Eric Haase, Gary Sánchez & the Brewers' backup catcher quandry

Original story published by Jason Wang on Brewer Fanatic.

MILWAUKEE — On Jun. 26, Gary Sánchez was placed on the 10-day IL for a left calf strain. To replace him, Eric Haase was called back up, and he’s performed admirably in Sánchez’s stead, slashing .455/.455/.727 over his 11 plate appearances with the team so far. It has been a great streak, for a player who managed just a .528 OPS in 2023.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and in this case, the good thing is probably Haase’s hot streak. Presumably, he’ll come back to Earth a bit, and Sánchez is reportedly very close to returning to the active roster. If Haase is designated for assignment to make room for Sánchez, it’s doubtful that he’d clear waivers, given the way he’s played all season both for Triple-A Nashville and with the Crew and the perpetual league-wide need for better catching depth. It was a mild surprise when he made it through at the beginning of the season, and the Crew are unlikely to get so lucky four months later, given the attrition and poor performances that have piled up in the meantime.

The Orioles and Guardians are two teams that come to mind, the first trotting out James McCann (.571 OPS) behind Adley Rutschman and the latter having Austin Hedges (.421 OPS) as their secondary catcher. Hedges is practically a coach in uniform, but McCann would be relatively easy to let go for Baltimore, and of course, you never know which other teams might take an interest.

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In the short term, it wouldn’t make much sense to have three catchers on the roster, especially when one of them is as heavily used as William Contreras. Although he’s slumped big-time since his MVP-tier play at the beginning of the season, Contreras still has an OPS of .806 and is a consistent lineup presence. He plays almost every day. The Brewers have too many other good options (some of them, like Haase, tough to farm out) to let two roster spots be tied up in backing up Contreras.

But what happens if Sánchez gets reinjured, or Contreras cracks under the burden of his workload? The options for Milwaukee in Triple-A aren’t great, at least from a hitting standpoint. Francisco Mejía has played the most innings at catcher for the Nashville Sounds, but is slashing just .249/.314/.385 over 239 plate appearances in a very hitter-friendly environment. Nor is he an inspiring defensive option. In an ideal world, the need for a backup catcher could result in highly-ranked Brewers prospect Jeferson Quero getting called up, but in the crueler one, he had season-ending shoulder surgery in April, so that’s not going to happen.

Perhaps a trade would be in order. Just last year, the Crew sent catcher Alex Jackson to the Rays in exchange for Evan McKendry, a right-handed starter currently pitching in Triple-A. With Victor Caratini already a serviceable backup option for Contreras, Jackson was a redundancy languishing away in Triple-A as a 27-year old. It was a win-win move, with Tampa Bay receiving a major league-ready player who is now their alternate catcher behind Ben Rortvedt, and Milwaukee receiving more starting pitching depth. Maybe the Brewers could do something similar, but this time in reverse, pursuing a near-ready catcher to use in case of emergency.

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It wouldn’t make sense to make this a priority at the deadline, nor to give up too much, so picking the right target would be key. One possible name could be Brian Serven, whom the Blue Jays claimed on waivers this spring and has been very good for them in Triple-A (though not so in a brief stint with the parent club). Another could be Mets spare part Joe Hudson.

Kevin Plawecki, another 33-year-old minor-leaguer, could be an option. He’s got a .778 OPS over 155 plate appearances with the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate and San Diego could definitely use more pitching, especially in the bullpen. Their catcher depth is already good, with Luis Campusano and Kyle Higashioka holding down the fort while No. 6-ranked MLB prospect Ethan Salas earns his stripes. Surely, they have no need for someone nearly twice the age of Salas, right?

These thoughts are really just in preparation for a worst-case scenario, and there’s a good chance that that doesn’t come to fruition. If both catchers on the major-league roster eat their Wheaties and stay out of trouble, this should all be a moot point. However, it’s yet another interesting example of how the Brewers’ front office might have to get crafty to address unfortunate roster situations. With moves to acquire and (hopefully) get the best out of struggling starters Dallas Keuchel and Aaron Civale, the backup catcher conjecture would be the latest in a long list of challenges for Milwaukee management.

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